Maa Mangala Temple, Kakatpur — Attraction in Kakatpur

Tomorrow will be the last Tuesday of Chaitra month Sukla Sri Ramanabami, the day of Zhamuyatra. Mangala is over thoughtful till the late night. The devotees in large number would come. Yet She had only one thought in mind. She would straight go to Lord Jagannath and ask Him whether He would grant Her the right of choosing wood (Daru) for the deities of Nabakalebar. Keeping it in mind She set out for Srikshetra to have darshan of Lord Jagannath.

It was dawn of Sri Rama Nabami. All deities have returned after darshan of Lord Jagannath. Only mother Mangala was sitting in a sorrowful face. Jagannath asked, 'Mother! why are You in a fading and grievous mind'. Mangala said in a calm-loaded tone, 'I desire to get from You a demand. I shall tell You if you promise before me', Jagannath smiled and said, "Your son can offer anything You desire. What more truth do You expect ? Now I promise".

The mother, Mangala's facial appearance was changed. She said, I shall select Daru (wood) to be required for Your (new body) Nabakalebar. This right I shall get from you? At this Jagannath remained speechless and delirium, could not decide what to say. Jagannath lastly replied, 'Mother, I have already given that right to Biswabasu'. Mangala was broken down. She said in a low voice, 'In course of time the same low voice, 'In course of Lakatpur time the same concentration may be disturbed and damaged. The successors may be unsuccessful in finding out the right Daru. You will be defamed. You give that duty to me. They would seek Daru under my directions. Thus the rights of both may be preserved". This was very justified. In an agreeable voice Jagannath fulfilled mother's request. Her joy knew no bounds, since She has obtained a great success. The dawn was about to pass. The sky clearly indicated the approach of the day. Mangala was in a hurry to enter into Her temple at Kakatpur. The next day would be Zhamu, the greatest function of 'Ma'. While Mangala was rushing hurriedly to Her temple, Her golden ring bracelet was missed from Her hand on the way.

Mangala entered into Her temple and was seated on the throne. The senior devotee opened the door in the moming. He examined. Everything was normal and right, but the bangle of Mangala was not there. A thorough search was made in and out. The mother went to the King. He engaged sepoys.

It was found in the agricultural land of a farmer who got it while ploughing the field. He went back home without ploughing the land and told it to the villagers. The sepoys took the farmer to the king who imprisoned him thinking him to be a thief. The poor farmer prayed to Lord Jagannath for none of his crime.

In the last part of the night, Jagannath told the king that the farmer was not at fault. Yesterday at dawn Mangala was granted the right to Daru selection. The Daitas who were the successors of Biswabasu would make Daru selection under Ma's directions. In this context when it was late at night and Mangala was in a hurry to enter into Her throne, on the way the bangles fell from Her hand and missed. So you should release the farmer and his land would be tax free and the maahal (area) would be Ratnachudi Maahal.

The King did this. The same Ratnachudi Maahal of Mangala is still in existence. The stone on which Mangala was seated after Her darshan of Jagannath, is lying on the south of Jagamohan in the Mangala Temple. The stone becomes thin and thinner day by day.

To commemorate this, the Daitapati and others, on the 10th day of Chaitra Fullmoon start from Puri with flower garlands of Jagannath (Agyanmala) to Kakatpur to worship Mangala with full concentration to receive indication asto which direction they would move to get Daru on the occasion of...

Evolution of the name of the deity as 'Maa Mangala' hails from a legend believed by the locals of Kakatpur village people. Goddess Managla kept herself hidden under the deep water of river Prachi. Once a boatman was sailing his boat across river Prachi. At that time the river was outpouring and flooded so he was unable to sail his boat to the middle of the river. He spent whole day and night but not able to sail his boat and during early morning, before the dawn, Goddess Mangala came in his dream and asked him to recover her from the water and to establish her in nearby Mangalapur village. The boatman dived into the water and able to find the deity from the bed of the river. Then as per the direction of the Goddess he established the figure of the deity in a temple in Mangalapur village. After this the boatman saw a black crow dived into the water and did not come out of the water for hours and days, the crow detained inside the water of river Prachi exactly in the same place from where he recovered the figure of Goddess Mangala. In local oriya language 'Crow' means 'Kaka' and 'Detained' means 'Atka'. So by combining the two words it becomes 'Kaka-Atka', so during the course of time the Mangalapur village is known as 'Kakata' (Kaka-Atka) pur and the Goddess is known as Kakatpur Mangala. That time before 500 years ago Local Jamindar Roychudamoni family has made the mandir at Kakatpur with all the Sebak arrangement. This Mandir was Made by Panchanan Mitra(Roychudamoni) on 1548A:D. This goddess is very famous with all the qualities of peace, power, happiness, love, purity, knowledge & truth. The temple is built in typical Kalinga style and is a major pilgrimage for devotees of Shakti cult. Pilgrims frequent the temple seeking boons from Maa Mangala. There is a bed made of solid stone on which it is said Maa Mangala rests after touring the entire universe every day. As if to attest to this, the bed looks worn out in just the same way it would if it were in use for centuries. There is no written prove based on the evolution of the Deity. The legend behind the evolution has no base in ancient days. The myth is that before Odisha(Utkala) had a good commercial relationship with different island like singhala, java sumatra etc. Demon Ravana was worshiping goddess "Mangala" with his great devotion and became the most powerful by the blessing of Deity. After the victory of Lord Ram, goddess was taken to odisha from singhala by an sadhaba pua (one who do business with other country & islands) .At that time the Prachi civilization was getting civilized and developed more day by day & was only path to enter Utkala.That's why he established the Deity Mangala in Prachi valley.

But the above legend has no written prove this is only oral prove by local people. So that this thesis has become a myth not a fact.

So this can't be acceptable has the goddess was taken from Sri Lanka to Odisha.

If we have look to the culture & curving style of Odisha & compare to curving style of goddess no doubt curving style is...

Goddess Mangala is the presiding deity of this temple. Built in 15th century, the temple is a symbol of the ancient heritage of Kalinga. According to legend, the Goddess Mangala kept herself hidden under the waters of the River Prachi. One day a boatman was unable to cross the river in full spate when Maa Mangala told him in a dream to recover her from the middle of the river and establish her in the village of Mangalapur. He dived and recovered goddess idol and built the temple. Later, the boatman saw a crow dive into the exact spot in the river from where the deity was recovered but the crow never came out. In local Oriya language 'Crow' means 'Kaka' and 'Detained' means 'Atka'. Thus the place is called as Kakatpur.

Built in typical Kalinga style, it is a major pilgrimage for devotees of Shakti cult. Pilgrims visit frequently to the temple to get the blessings from Maa Mangala. There is a bed made of solid stone on which it is said Maa Mangala rests after touring the entire universe every day. The bed looks worn out in just the same way it would if it were in use for centuries.

Kakatpur Mangala Temple has a close relation with Lord Jagannath temple of Puri during the Navakalebara (Renovation of the Deities) festival. Old deities are buried under earth and new idols are created with a sacred wood known as 'Daru Brahma' in local language. As per the tradition the priests of Lord Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur Mangala to pray the Goddess to give them divine guidance to find the sacred wood. The priests sleep in front of the Goddess and then Goddess Mangala come in their dream and tells the exact location of the three sacred trees for the three deities. This custom has been performed from years together without any deviation.

Jhamu Yatra is the most popular festival of Goddess Mangala which falls on the first Tuesday of the Vaisakh every year. On this occasion devotees collect water from River Prachi and pray to get her blessings. Then with the mud pot, filled with water, on their shoulder, they are able to walk on the surface of burning fire spread on a long channel on bare feet. Due to their faith on Goddess Mangala and Her blessings on them, the devotees are unhurt and uninjured while performing such a risky custom. Every year thousands of devotees come to Kakatpur to celebrate the...